Good times for net businesses: Freelancer

There's never been a better time to start an internet company even just with a handful of cash and a good idea, an Australian entrepreneur says.

Ten years ago during the dotcom boom that sent many small companies bust there were only 50 million people on the internet worldwide.

Now two billion people are jumping on line and another two billion will connect in the next decade, says Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie.

His internet startup has become a global hit with its job matchmaking service for small businesses with small budgets that's turning developing world entrepreneurs into big earners.

"We have a guy in India who started with nothing and is making a million dollars a year building $65 websites," Barrie said.

"If you do a good job your earning potential explodes."

If you are searching for a job in Bangladesh, it might be a little bit grim in terms of what money you will make.

"But you can go on line now and make your month's wage in a few hours or days," Mr Barrie said.

"People from all over the world are getting on our website and lifting themselves out of poverty."

Freelancer.com also helps small businesses in mostly western countries that don't have a lot of money or time and who can't afford, for instance, a local website designer.

"Now they can jump on line to tap the global market place to get jobs done," Mr Barrie said.

Mr Barrie said technology has been accelerating and money was pouring into the sector.

"There has never been a better time to start a company because every company is now an internet company," he said.

"If you have got a really good idea for a product or a service, the ability to get in front of a few million customers is unprecedented."

He said you no longer need millions of dollars just to start up a business, and some are beginning with a thousand dollars.

"Simply because you can put four guys in a room now, feed them on noodles and in a few months time see if you get any traction through a website," he said.

"If it doesn't work you can change things.

"We are seeing companies that are started on the back of a credit card that are selling for $100 million, not often, but you can see it."

Mr Barrie's Sydney-based outsourcing marketplace - the largest in the world - started from nothing in 2004 and is now getting more than 2,000 new projects postings a day and 3,000 new user registrations a day.

Globally, Freelancer.com now ranks in the top 300 most-visited websites and Barrie thinks it will just get bigger.

"Three years ago we were the 5,000th biggest website and to be now in the top 300 or so has been a huge, huge ride," he said.

"But really what we are doing is piggybacking on the back of a big macro trend that is connecting the rest of the world.

"In places like Bangladesh you go on line. It is great to have news and sport but the first thing you really want to do is raise your level of income and that is where we come in because we can service that kind of population.

"We have testimony of people saying they were living on the streets of Bangladesh who are were poor and had nothing.

"Now they have money in the bank and are married because they can afford a dowry. There's fantastic stories there."